I love the crunchy nutty freshness of mung bean sprouts. They add such a healthy touch to our lunchtime salads and are great to munch on by the handful. They’re low fat, high protein, high fibre and gluten free. I’ve been making them since I was a kid, and I still love them.
My children now are becoming quite the sprout-masters – helping to raise these wonderful live foods. It’s simple, fun and super productive. It is most likely because of their involvement in this process that tonight my food critic 8yo son declared that mung bean sprouts are ‘Deeeelicious’. He proceeded to eat a bowl of them for dessert! I am absolutely delighted but I think we’d better increase our sprout production.
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| A lovely lunch – organic chick peas in tomato & herb sauce with organic heirloom tomato, carrot, olive and mung bean sprout salad with a drizzle of tahini. |
Mung beans are actually one of the easiest seeds to sprout, along with buckwheat which I have written about in a previous post. I really appreciate sprouts even more when my salad greens are a bit thin in the garden.
Mung beans are a great food. They are low in calories, have 20% protein, are high in fibre, and are quite high in vitamins A, B, C, E and K. Vitamin K helps to regulate bone mineralisation and maintain bone density. A cup of these a day provides a good amount of contain calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium too.
Super simple mung bean sprouting method
- Soak the mung beans for 6-8 hours or overnight
- Rinse thoroughly with cold tap water
- Use a sprouting tray (or jar) in a light spot but not in direct sunlight
- Rinse at least a couple of times a day (morning and night) and make sure drained well
- Start eating when the sprout is as long as the seed.
- Refrigerate once at desired sprouted length and consume within a week. (I usually give them another rinse before eating).
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| My daughter gave me this as a little gift last week. It works a treat! She bought it for $1 in our local community “Treasures” shop – essentially an op shop that raises money for our community cooperative. |
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| This bench-top sprouting system is really easy – I just pour water over the top tray and it infiltrates through leaving just enough water in each layer. I simply empty the reservoir at the bottom before watering again. It’s one of the easiest methods I’ve come across (Thanks Maia!!) |
Why eat sprouts?
- Sprouts are low calorie, low fat, gluten-free and vegan
- The quality of the protein improves with sprouting.
- Sprouting makes seeds, grains, nuts and legumes easier to digest
- Sprouting increases vitamin content dramatically.
- Essential fatty acid content rises with sprouting.
- Fibre content increases with sprouting.
- During sprouting, minerals bind to proteins making them more usable in the body.
- Sprouts are alkalising in the body.
- Sprouts are inexpensive.
Ways to use mung bean sprouts?
To maintain their maximum nutritional value, sprouts are best eaten fresh and raw in salads, on sandwiches, or by the handful. However, they go well in cooked dishes too. Here are a few ideas how to integrate sprouts into your meals:
- toss into stir fries and curries
- add to fresh juices
- add to vegetarian sushi rolls or salad wraps
- stir into soups and stews
- add into a savoury pancake batter
- add to a quiche, omelette or scrambled eggs
- add to veggie patty mix
- blend with pumpkin and/or soft cheese and spices to make a dip
- blend into sugar-free chocolate muffin mix
I haven't tried my own sprouting system yet… I would like to start with broccoli sprouts as I've read that they are highly nutritious.